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.“Sure.Just not too far or young gun over there’ll be stepping in.”Abraham looked at the EMT.“I’ll have him right back.”The walk to the hallway and into a different, smaller bedroom made the bones in David’s body feel like they’d taken to realigning themselves, and were now bumping together painfully and causing odd restrictions of movement.With a twinge of guilt he realized the truth of Jamie’s words to him before leaving, something that would not be alleviated by Alison’s safe recovery.Abraham closed the door behind him, and David took a seat.“First off, I’m glad you’re okay.”“Define okay.” David winced as he settled back on the chair.“Alive.” He paused, looking as though he were trying to organize his thoughts.“Also, I owe you an apology.I haven’t been honest with you.”“I kinda figured that, what with the outfit.” The irony that he was wearing Abraham’s previous outfit wasn’t lost on David.Abraham stole a self-conscious look down at his clothing.“Right.Well, my name is Abraham, Abraham Holman.I’m an Interpol agent, and I’ve been working a case for some months now, looking into a number of European nationals under suspicion for being involved in a massive, multi-country sex trade and drug trafficking ring.Your investigation just happened to stumble smack dab into the middle of this.”“So I guess you didn’t really steal a boat to get to Aruba?”“Nope.”“And I should probably apologize about getting into it with you at the harbour, back in Newport.” He remembered with an internal wince shaking the man like some low-life thug.“Water under the bridge.”David let his eyes slip closed as he thought about the past few weeks.“So you bumping into Jamie and me that night wasn’t a coincidence?”“Not at all.I’d had Godfried and Jasper under surveillance for some time, and when I saw you guys speaking with them I ran a check, found out who you were and what you were up to.I couldn’t be sure that my case had anything to do with your missing person, but I didn’t figure it would hurt to tail you, see what you shook loose.”“All right.”“Then when I saw the picture of Piper and remembered seeing someone who looked just like her leaving with a young man from the harbour it seemed imperative I follow through with you.You’ve managed to turn up some new leads in a very short amount of time.The bar where Jasper picked up the girls, the car he brought the one girl to, Godfried’s departure and involvement in Alison’s kidnapping.The water’s sure been churned up since you starting poking around.”David thought back over everything that had happened in the past few weeks, especially his interactions with Abraham.“You can’t be the only one on this.”“I’m not.There’s a team of us, here in the Caribbean and in Europe.We’ve infiltrated at various levels, and we’re gathering evidence.Building our case.”“Why’d you need me then?” David asked.“You’re like a dog with a bone and I figured if this crossed borders you wouldn’t hesitate to follow.I get stopped too often by the need for paperwork and the okay from up the chain.” Abraham didn’t look pleased about the truth of his statement.“Plus without the okay I wouldn’t be able to do something like break into someone’s home.Doing that saved Alison, before those bastards had a chance to move her again.Or worse.I figured this would be win-win.I’d get some more information, you’d get Alison, and maybe even Piper.”“So you used me?”“I like to think of it as relying on a fellow investigator.”“Okay, but why didn’t you just step in and arrest Godfried and Ezekial in Aruba? Why keep up the cover?”Abraham ran a hand through his hair, highlighting again the dramatic change from the scruffy, stoner persona David had been introduced to.“This is much bigger than just one man, or even Godfried’s circle of henchmen.They are tied to high-powered businessmen, politicians, lawyers, even aristocracy.I can’t share the details, but I will say when this goes down it’s going to affect a lot of people.We need Godfried to lead us to some concrete proof, possibly even the top banana.”“Even though he’s guilty of kidnapping, and most likely poisoning me?”“This is much deeper than that I’m afraid.Whoever he’s connected to is guilty of multiple murders, torture, extortion, and who knows what else.You have to see the big picture here.Anyway our agency doesn’t work like that.Any arrests will come from the local police where the bust happens.Like I said it’s a lot of bureaucratic bullshit.That’s how a lot of these guys evade detection and prosecution for years.”David nodded, though the truth didn’t settle well with him.He thought about the car seen picking up the girl Jasper had drugged and Desmond’s comments on not being able to question the owner of said vehicle.“Isn’t this a bit of a catch-22? I mean when the business with Jasper and the car belonging to that man tied to Dutch government happened, Desmond told me rather bluntly he’d never get anywhere with it.”“You mean Jürgen Behrendt.He’s been on our radar for a while now, but like you say he’s well connected.This is what we’re up against
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